


For A Good Time, Call

by EternallyEC



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, I don't plan on writing the actual phone sex between anyone but Shoot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Probably a lot of kinks will be mentioned, Root is a little shit, Shaw is a struggling college student, but no promises, phone sex au, the phone sex au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22063267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyEC/pseuds/EternallyEC
Summary: Sameen Shaw is a college student in need of funds until her scholarships come through. When she finds a mysterious but promising ad on the college job board, she finds herself working as a phone sex operator.Root is an esteemed hacker who utilizes the exclusive service when she's too busy or too bored to do things the old-fashioned way.What happens the day Root gets connected with Sameen and she finds herself enthralled with the voice on the other end of the line?AKA the phone sex AU probably nobody asked for but I couldn't resist writing
Relationships: Root/Sameen Shaw
Comments: 8
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year, everyone! I started this story a week or two ago and I was going to wait until I'd finished Strangers to post, but I figured why bother? 
> 
> I don't have an outline for this one just yet; I came up with the idea ages ago and just started writing one night! I have a vague idea of where I want it to go, but mostly I'm just enjoying the ride and seeing where it takes me. As such, I don't have any idea how long this will be or when updates will be coming, but I do promise that I'll see it through to the end! 
> 
> If anyone has any ideas or things they'd like to see be incorporated, please leave them in the comments and I'll see what I can do! 
> 
> (And apologies for the title; I've been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to think of something and it's the only thing that kept coming to mind. I have Root's love of terrible jokes and it made me laugh, so I figured it would work.) 
> 
> Enjoy, and as always, please let me know what you think!

Sameen Shaw had always known that she would be on her own as far as college went. When her father had died unexpectedly when she was 10 years old, he’d had the beginnings of a college fund for her but it’d quickly dissipated between funeral costs and bills.

Her mother had never worked before and although she tried to find a job, it had proven difficult and the work she did eventually find hardly paid enough to pay the bills and feed and clothe Sameen and sometimes herself. Sameen had been the one to insist her mother dip into her college fund to take care of them both; even as a child, she’d been sensible enough to know it didn’t make sense for them to struggle when the money was there and she could figure college out later.

Her father had always stressed the importance of college and expressing his hopes that she would become the first of their family to graduate. Sameen enjoyed school and did well at it, so she couldn’t see any reason to make his dream her own, not exactly having one of her own as it was.

As soon as she’d turned 16, she’d taken any job that would have her. Unfortunately, those were mainly fast food joints and she was usually fired after a few days and several customer complaints. Then she’d found work cleaning office buildings after hours. Technically, the company only hired those over the age of 18, but Sameen had long ago learned how to forge certain documents from a guy at school who had made a business of it and made the unfortunate mistake of thinking he could win Shaw over with his skills.

Instead, she proved once again to be a quick study and within days of him trying to pin her against a laminating machine, he had a broken jaw and nose and she had a new and steady cash flow on top of a new identity as Sameen Grey, an 18-year-old perfectly capable of cleaning office buildings at night.

She’d managed to build up an impressive savings account by the time she graduated, but she knew it wasn’t enough for more than three, maybe four semesters if she pushed it. She’d applied for scholarship after scholarship, grant after grant, but as the deadline to enroll for the fall semester drew closer and closer and she didn’t hear back, she’d resolved to make the leap and hope she could come up with the rest of the money before she ran out of funds.

She made the enrollment deadline and started planning. She’d chosen the university based on proximity to her mother first, but it was the highest-ranked for premed of any of the local schools so it suited her just fine. However, she now had another issue to tackle that she hadn’t thought of: her living situation.

Sameen cared about her mother as much as she _could_ care about someone, but she knew that she needed to move out. She wanted to stay near her mother but she didn’t want to live with her, preferring the thought of her own space. Campus housing was dismal at best, roommates being assigned by some sort of dumb sorting system done by a computer and again, she relished the thought of having her own space. So, an apartment it was going to have to be, although she hated watching her savings deplete more every month that passed.

It quickly became clear to her that her job wasn’t going to cut it anymore and although she’d _finally_ received notice that she had been approved for a late scholarship, so although her next semester’s tuition and books would be covered and she’d be reimbursed for this year’s at the end of the fiscal year, it wasn’t enough to help her now.

She was almost four months into her new life when she approached the campus job board. Most of it was digital now, but Sameen hadn’t found anything worth her time on there. And, truth be told, she was an old-fashioned kind of girl; sometimes, there was merit in doing things the old way.

Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to be one of those cases. Dog walker? Promising, but there was no way that would pay what she needed and probably would conflict with class. Babysitting? She snorted, imagining the look on anyone’s face who opened the door to see her standing there. Waitress? She snorted again, rolling her eyes and about to give up when she saw a flier almost completely covered up by the last notice. Ripping the offending ad down without a care, she studied the one below it with interest.

_Need cash fast? You control your earnings, your hours, and your workload, all while working remotely. Call for more information between the hours of ten PM and 5 AM._

The ad had tear-off strips with a phone number and a first name above it: Zoe. Sameen eyed the ad again curiously before figuring what the hell and ripping one of the strips off. She pocketed it and went about her day as usual: first were her morning classes, a break for lunch, and her final two classes of the day. Then, she went back to her spartan apartment and worked on assignments until it was time for her to go to work.

When she returned home, it was finally past ten and she settled in with a beer as she slowly punched the number into her cell phone and hit send.

“ _This is Zoe speaking. If you’re calling about the advertisement, please leave your name, phone number and a brief phrase at the beep. If I feel you’re a good candidate, I’ll be in touch. If not… don’t call again.”_

Sameen blinked, surprised by the straightforwardness of the message and she nearly choked on her beer when the beep sounded. Coughing, she cursed inwardly as she realized she had no idea what Zoe wanted when she asked for a ‘phrase’. “I’m Sameen,” she said, voice still a bit raspy from the coughing fit. She rattled off her phone number before pausing and figuring what the hell.

“I have a personality disorder so whatever this gig is, I won’t give a shit about the ethics of it and I’ll forget anything you want me to.”

With that, she hung up and idly wondered what the hell she was getting herself into if the mysterious Zoe happened to call her back.

~ ~ ~

When Sameen’s phone rang approximately thirty-six minutes after she’d placed the call, she answered it quickly. “Hello?”

“Hello, Sameen.” The voice on the other end of the line was raspy in all the right ways and sounded mature and confident, all qualities Sameen quite admired and which piqued her curiosity even more.

“Zoe, right?” she asked boldly, taking another sip of her beer.

“That’s right.” The woman sounded amused and she wasn’t certain if that was a good or bad sign. “I’d like to set up a meeting with you, one-on-one. Our girls all have to be vetted very carefully and I think you have what it takes.”

Sameen blinked, surprised at the rapid turn of events but growing more curious by the minute. “All right, when and where?”

~ ~ ~

Arriving at the park ten minutes later and nearly twenty minutes early, Sameen quickly found the bench by the statue Zoe had told her to look for and sat down. She hadn’t bothered to do much beyond pull her hair back into a ponytail and change out of her work clothes into her typical attire of a tank top and jeans.

As far as she could tell, there were about two things this job could be. One, she couldn’t accept because while she enjoyed sex, it had to be on _her_ terms and she knew she couldn’t handle catering to anyone’s whims, not for any amount of cash. The second… Well, it wouldn’t much matter what she looked like if she sounded the part. That one sounded like something she could handle.

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of gravel crunching underneath boots and she glanced up to see a smart-dressed, beautiful woman approaching with a man trailing several yards behind. He was clearly security of some kind, the way his eyes kept roaming around the perimeter while constantly darting back to the woman who had to be Zoe.

“Hello, Sameen,” Zoe smiled, reaching out her hand. She accepted the handshake brusquely, dropping it as soon as was socially acceptable as she scrutinized the older woman.

“Hey,” she offered.

Taking a seat, Zoe offered her a smile and pulled a burner phone out of the pocket of her jacket and Sameen raised an eyebrow. Although her first instinct was to assume that the gig must be the second she’d thought of, she knew there were plenty of other reasons Zoe would be giving her a burner phone and she wasn’t ready to relax just yet.

“I took the liberty of checking into your grades and you’re a very smart girl, Sameen. I assume you probably have already worked out what this job entails, am I right?”

She frowned, wondering how Zoe had gotten her last name but gestured for her to continue. “I have my suspicions.”

“I’m afraid I can’t spell it out for you just yet, but I can tell you it’s nothing physical,” she smiled. “If everything pans out, this phone will be activated and I’ll send you a text to let you know,” she told her, pressing the phone and a charger into Sameen’s hand and only releasing it when her fingers had curled over it. “I have a feeling it will. I have a… sense about people and it’s telling me that you’re someone who will do well with us, Sameen. But for now, that’s all I can tell you, I’m afraid. Discretion is paramount, as I’m sure you understand,” she smiled.

“We’re running an extensive background check as we speak and once that comes back, we’ll require a drug test. Alcohol isn’t monitored with our girls, although you may not touch a drop for at least four hours before a shift without severe penalty, but if we ever find drugs in your system, it’s an automatic out. Clear?”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. I’ve never even smoked a joint,” Sameen smirked. “Like I said on the phone, personality disorder. I never saw the point in fucking with any of that stuff since the way I am is usually the desired result.”

Zoe chuckled and nodded. “Fair enough, Sameen. We’ll go over the rest of the rules at a later date but for now… I’m sure that it goes without saying, but make sure that you don’t tell anyone about this meeting.”

She nodded with a smirk playing on her lips. “I won’t say a word.”

“Very good,” Zoe smiled as she stood up and nodded at the man still watching them, who went to presumably start the car. “Remember to keep that phone on you and charged at all times. I’m not a very patient woman, I don’t like to be left waiting.”

And with that, she turned and slowly strolled away.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Chapter 2

It was five days later when the phone Zoe had given her finally chimed with a text message notification. Sameen had been analyzing her options ever since the meeting in the park and she’d decided that she’d take the job when Zoe called. And she’d known that she _would_ call because Sameen had always been careful to keep her record clean.

Picking up the phone, she scanned it quickly and nodded to herself. It was just a date, time, and location for about two hours from now and just around the corner from her apartment. She had plenty of time to shower and get dressed, opting for her usual tank top and jeans again but leaving her hair down this time before leaving and locking the door behind her.

She wasn’t surprised to arrive early and find Zoe and the man from the other night waiting in front of the building for her. “Hey,” she greeted them, shoving her hands in her pockets in an effort to evade the cold.

“Hello again, Sameen,” Zoe said, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips as her bodyguard opened the door and she strode in ahead of her.

“Dr. Tillman, this is Sameen,” she introduced her to the pretty woman inside the office. “She’s here for her drug test.”

Sameen smirked at the deliberate omission of her last name, realizing that while it was obvious the doctor was a part of all of this, she still wasn’t privy to all of the information. “Discretion is paramount”, indeed.

“Of course, ma’am,” the doctor smiled, turning to Sameen. “If you’ll follow me, please.”

Rather than the urine sample Sameen had been prepared to provide, the doctor instead carefully plucked a few hairs from her head with scissors before sending her back out to wait with Zoe. Apparently, her soon-to-be-employer was thorough _and_ favored quick results; Sameen knew that a urine drug test could take between 24 and 72 hours to process and generally only covered the past week or two, whereas a hair follicle test could be read immediately and could go back as far as 90 days.

She gave Zoe a slight smile as she sat down beside her. “I wondered why you took so long to get in touch,” she told her. “Very sneaky of you to try to catch those who think it’ll just be a urine test and give them extra time for drugs to present instead.”

“I’m nothing if not pragmatic, as I’m sure you’ll come to learn,” Zoe chuckled. “My business is exclusive and I need to be able to trust my employees. You’d be surprised at how many I’ve ruled out because they think they’ll have one last hurrah and just take one of those over the counter products to cleanse their systems afterwards.”

Sameen nodded. “Makes sense,” she mused thoughtfully. “There’s no getting around a hair follicle test.”

Zoe chuckled and nodded. “At this point, this is just a formality. While we wait on the results, why don’t I give you a bit more information?” It clearly wasn’t a question and Sameen merely nodded in response.

“As I’m sure you’ve worked out, I operate an exclusive erotic phone hotline. I handpick all of my operators and make sure they’re vetted thoroughly because we cater to a very select and often paranoid clientele. We never have more than twenty at any given time so there’s an appointment process that must be strictly adhered to no matter what. I don’t care if there’s a death in the family; if you make an appointment, you keep that appointment.”

She cleared her throat. “I like to keep my selection varied, so let me ask you, Sameen. Are you gay, bisexual, straight?”

“Bisexual,” Sameen answered after a moment of hesitation. She’d never labeled it before, the way she was attracted to and slept with anyone regardless of gender, but she figured it was a good enough time.

“That’s good,” she smiled. “I don’t pair my operators with just anyone, you see. Some may think they can fake it well enough, but my clients are very smart people and some are even trained to detect any slight note of falseness. If that was to happen and disappoint a client, it could damage my reputation greatly. Do you have a preference?”

Sameen shrugged. “Not really,” she answered honestly enough before hesitating. “I guess men might be easier with this stuff, but I don’t really care.”

“Good,” Zoe smiled, making a note on her phone. “So to start you off, we’ll probably have you handle mostly men and slowly introduce women in and see how you feel then. Your preferences aren’t fixed and can be changed at any time,” she explained. “We’ll give you a form with preferences and that sort of thing to fill out later.”

“Now, as for the subject of payment,” she smiled. “I can’t give you an exact dollar amount, but you do receive 40% of the income from your calls.” She chuckled as Sameen’s jaw dropped, not having expected that. “I take care of my operators,” she told her with a wink.

“The cost of the calls is by the minute and that is determined by what they’re wanting to get out of it. Fetishes, kinks, role-playing, all of that sort of thing is an additional charge on top of the base rate. Sometimes, the client will start to request a specific operator and that’s an additional charge as well, one that you receive 100% off as incentive to entice regulars,” she grinned. “You’ll be able to choose which you’re interested in when we give you the form later.”

“Payment is made through wire transfers on the first and the fifteenth of the month. If you’d like it to go directly into the savings or checking accounts you already have set up, that can be arranged; otherwise, we can make other arrangements as you prefer.”

Sameen’s head felt like it was spinning with all of this information and she held up a hand, taking a moment to process it. “Okay, so what’s the catch?” she asked, eyeing Zoe warily.

Zoe chuckled, clearly delighted by her catching on. “Oh, you are a smart one,” she said. “Allow me to be straight with you, Sameen. I’m in the information business, information that pays extraordinarily well and allows me to pay you at least triple the going rate for such a position. All that I ask in return is that you keep detailed notes of any information that you feel could be.. useful in your call logs which I’ll collect from you weekly.”

“Information like what?” she frowned cautiously.

“Information like names, confessions, anything really. You’d be amazed by the sort of information ordinarily private people are willing to divulge when they’re speaking with someone willing to offer an intimacy they’re unaccustomed to.”

Sameen took a moment to mull that over before shrugging, not seeing a problem with it. “Sure.”

“And once you give it to me, you forget all about it,” she said, her tone a warning and Sameen raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“Yeah, sure. Like I said on the voicemail, I won’t remember a thing,” she smirked.

“Good girl,” Zoe said, back to pleasant smiles as Dr. Tillman entered the room again.

“Completely clean,” she told Zoe with a smile.

“Very good, that’s what I like to hear,” she nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Tillman.”

And with that, they headed back outside and Zoe pursed her lips as the muscle went off again, presumably to bring the car around. “Do you have the phone?”

“Of course,” Sameen nodded, pulling it out and handing it over. Zoe’s fingers flew over the keys for a moment before she handed it back. “I’ll be in touch soon to discuss training. While you’ll usually be working at home, I prefer to bring you in to train with a more experienced operator for a few days beforehand.”

Sameen nodded, though she internally rolled her eyes at the idea of having another person around to listen to her getting people off. “Yeah, sure.”

“Good night, Sameen,” Zoe said, gazing at her thoughtfully before smiling and climbing into the car, leaving her standing alone in the cool night air.

TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
